Awards FAQs

Why should I nominate my project in the awards?Winning a DRIVENxDESIGN Award offers a distinct competitive advantage to those offering products and services to a highly visible, global market. It provides an important third-party validation and offers brand differentiation.

Awards also build company prestige and reputation, essential for retaining current and attracting future clients, employees, investors and customers. They’re also a great way to recognise the work of project teams and to reinforce relationships with important clients.

What do I win?Each DRIVENxDESIGN award winner receives one DRIVENxDESIGN Award Trophy available at the Awards Presentation or by postage and Award Certificate. Winners receive a profile on drivenxdesign.com and are included in the Annual Collection, a hard copy book of the best projects in the awards.

Also and importantly, award winners are encouraged to use the Awards Brandmark -available here - in their marketing of their product and or promotion of their organization or design practice - there are no licensing fees or additional costs to do so.

Award Winners are also involved in PR activations and other promotional activities, and we also work with award winners to ensure their PR needs are met.

How do I nominate my project in the awards?Nominating your project in a DRIVENxDESIGN awards program is straightforward. All you need to do is login to the site, select a category and fill in the nomination form. For a overview of the process and some tips to improve the nomination check out the information on the How to Nominate Page

Which awards program can I nominate my project in?DRIVENxDESIGN awards programs are marketplace-based. This means that the project work must be commissioned, marketed or created in the same marketplace as the awards program you are entering.

What sorts of design are included in the awards?DRIVENxDESIGN run multidisciplinary human centred design award programs. We’re concerned with design as a market-based means of problem solving that prioritising user experience and as such we recognise the design strategy and human outcomes as much as the form and finish.

We feel that human centred design is a horizontal that transcends industry sectors as such we try to recognise projects from across the design spectrum. To see all the categories, select an awards program and then hover over categories in the navigation bar.

How much does it cost to nominate a project?Nomination fees depend on the local currency and whether it’s a standard nomination or late nomination. The good news is there is no licensing fees or ongoing payments. Using our IP and brandmark is not only included in the nomination fee - it’s encouraged and we provide winners with all the tools necassary to get the most out of winning the award.

To find out how much a nomination costs, select an awards program and then click on the specific category that you intend to nominate your project.

Do you accept physical submissions?Typically DRIVENxDESIGN Awards do not accept physical submissions. Our awards are conducted via an online platform. However, we occasionally have the opportunity to display a physical collection at the awards presentation or an event associated with the awards. In these cases we’ll get in touch with you to arrange the display.

What’s a design commissioner and who is the design creator? Is my project self-commissioned or client-commissioned?Traditionally design has had at least two roles involved in it - the client and the designer. The client develops the brief and the designer delivers it. However not all design projects are that distinct and we’re seeing design teams move inhouse and agencies that offer solely offer brief development start-up. To address this in our awards we refer to the originator of the brief as the design commissioner and the deliver of the design as the creator. These roles can occur inhouse or involve multiple parties, we are flexible and try to provide recognition for all parties involved in the project. If we’ve missed someone, get in touch (editor@drivenxdesign.com) and we’ll amend the nomination.

Client-commissioned refers to when there are multiple parties involved in the project, whereas self-commissioned refers to projects that are carried out inhouse.

Why do you recognize both the design commissioner and the design creator equally?Design is creative, courageous, powerful and can to change the world. Importantly, it’s also commercial - otherwise it’s art! In order to grow demand for design we think it’s essential to recognise and celebrate equally those managers, marketers and strategists who have the foresight and courage to commission extraordinary design.

Who judges the awards and how does the judging work? Each DRIVENxDESIGN awards program collects ratings from both the judging panel, comprised of selection of independent design giants - industry experts who have an understanding of design from both an aesthetic and marketplace perspective - and the marketplace who commission and consume those designs. You can find more details on our rating details page.